Say it Ain’t So Mr. Irsay!

The details are still foggy…..unfortunately, they’re foggy like Jim Irsay’s head this morning. According to multiple news outlets, Mr. Irsay was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) along with possession of a controlled substance. He was pulled over by Carmel, Indiana police late Sunday night/early Monday morning and placed behind bars. His bail is reportedly set at $22,500.

Some will remember a tweet that Irsay sent out last October, responding to some who questioned his sobriety based on his uncanny tweets.

This is bad news after a nice run in free agency. All things were clicking for the Colts. They addressed several needs wtih the re-signing of Vonte Davis, Adam Vinatieri, Pat McAfee and Sergio Brown, along with the new signings of D’Qwell Jackson, Arthur Jones and Hakeem Nicks. The Colts are projected to still be $17M below the cap, and have been tied to free agent center Alex Mack. Not sure if the Irsay news will impact any additional free agent signings, but it’s certainly a black eye for what is a great organization.

Back in 2002, it was reported that Mr. Irsay was battling prescrption drug addiction. He was in and out of rehab several times. It was also reported that he overdosed 3 times. Irsay managed to get through a very difficult time, but it appears that his demons have resurfaced.

It will be interesting to see how/if Roger Goddell handles this situation. We know how hard he has come down on football players for their off the field actions. Would he challenge Irsay just the same? If so, how does he challenge Irsay? Fines? Could he actually do something with draft picks? How will this situation impact the Indianapolis Super Bowl bid? Many, many questions are still out there that will have to be answered at some point. For now, let’s pray that Mr. Irsay learns from this.